NCJ Number
65925
Date Published
1977
Length
303 pages
Annotation
TO INTRODUCE STATISTICS TO STUDENTS IN SOCIOLOGY AND RELATED FIELDS, THIS VOLUME DISCUSSES STATISTICAL PROCEDURES AND PRESENTS AN INTRODUCTION TO REGRESSION ANALYSIS.
Abstract
USEFUL METHODS FOR DESCRIBING AND COMPARING RAW DATA ARE EXAMINED, INCLUDING FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS, GRAPHIC PRESENTATIONS (PIE CHARTS, BAR GRAPHS, FREQUENCY POLYGONS), MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY (THE MODE, THE MEDIAN, THE MEAN), AND MEASURES OF VARIABILITY (THE RANGE, MEAN DEVIATION, AND STANDARD DEVIATION). ALSO DISCUSSED ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORMAL CURVE, AN IMPORTANT DESCRIPTIVE DEVICE, AND OTHER METHODS OF GENERALIZING FROM SAMPLES TO POPULATIONS. SEVERAL TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE (I.E., CHI SQUARE) AND PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS ARE ALSO EXAMINED. THE VOLUME EMPHASIZES THE RESEARCH APPLICATIONS OF STATISTICS AND PROVIDES EXERCISES FOR STUDENTS TO SELECT APPROPRIATE STATISTICAL PROCEDURES FOR VARIOUS RESEARCH SITUATIONS. DETAILED STEP-BY-STEP ILLUSTRATIONS OF STATISTICAL PROCEDURES ARE INCLUDED, ALONG WITH NUMEROUS PROBLEMS FROM ACTUAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. APPENDIXES CONTAIN A REVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MATHEMATICS, A LIST OF FORMULAS, TABULAR DATA, REFERENCES, ANSWERS TO SELECTED PROBLEMS IN THE TEXT, AN AN INDEX.